Beliefs, Attitudes, and Values

Culture is stored in individual human beings, in the form of their beliefs, attitudes, and values. There are strong similarities in the belief systems among the members of a given culture.

Beliefs are an individual's representations of the outside world. Some beliefs are seen as very likely to be true, such as " 2 + 2 = 4." Others are seen as less probable, such as " All old people sit at home in rocking chairs." Beliefs serve as the storage system for the content of our past experiences, including thoughts, memories, and interpretations of events. Beliefs are shaped by the individual's culture.

Attitudes, like beliefs, are internal events and not directly observable by other people. Attitudes are emotional responses to objects, ideas, and people. Attitudes store these emotional responses in the same way that beliefs store the content of past events. People express opinions, outwardly observable verbal behavior, and engage in other behaviors, partially on the basis of their attitudes and beliefs. Attitudes and beliefs form a storage system for culture within the individual. Attitudes and beliefs are internal and are not publicly observable. I cannot know your attitudes or your beliefs directly, but I can observe what you say (your expressed opinions) and what you do (your behavior) and infer your attitudes and beliefs from these overt expressions.

Attitudes and beliefs indicate behavioral intentions, tendencies for a person to respond to events, ideas, and people in particular ways. If I know (belief) what Thai food is and like (attitude/emotion) Thai food, then I may intend to eat (behavioral intention) Thai food. The relationship of attitudes and beliefs to behaviors is not a one-to-one equation. Numerous attitudes and beliefs are stored in a person's belief system. Just because a person likes Thai food does not mean that the person will act on that attitude. Other likes and dislikes compete for the person's time, money, and energy. Attitudes and beliefs about losing weight, spending money, and use of time may be stronger than a desire to go to a restaurant for Thai food.

Values are what people who share a culture regard strongly as good or bad. Values have an evaluative component. They often concern desired goals, such as the Christian value of salvation, or the values of mature love, world peace, or preservation of the environment. Values also concern ways of behaving that lead to these goals, such as valuing thrift, honesty, cleanliness, or speaking and acting quietly so as not to make noise that disturbs other people.